DjangoStonereaver:FirstNationalBastard: dickfreckle: Has anyone ever been to a hospital that runs on MacOS?

Other than jumping the shark, that's my only complaint about House.

/also the only modern TV show I had time to follow//not a hipster - I do own a TV/mostly for sports

Last season (the final season) there were quite a few episodes where they broke out into a car commercial in the middle of the episode, touting all the wonderful features and options on the new Ford POS SUV.

WHITE COLLAR does this quite a lot, though they seem to have a way of making it obvious that itsa product plug without it being too intrusive. For example: Peter and Neal were having an intenseconversation while driving in NY traffic, and when Peter (who was driving) got distracted he got tooclose to the car ahead of him and the automatic brakes went on. He mentioned the feature and thenwent on with the scene, but it actually served to accentuate the conversation they were having. Italmost seemed natural, in point of fact.

If there are going to be embedded ads in TV shows, that is how it should probably be done, thoughthe advertisers probably don't like things that subtle.

Yeah, USA does it a lot, most noticeable with cars, i remember the exact scene youre talking about, that was pretty unobtrusive, but sometimes its pretty bad. I remember one time on Burn Notice "If you have to get away from the bad guys in a hurry, you could do a lot worse than Fis Hyundai Genesis, with its 300 horsepower and tight handling." I noticed Red Robin coming up several times on Psych too..

Cyno01:DjangoStonereaver: FirstNationalBastard: dickfreckle: Has anyone ever been to a hospital that runs on MacOS?

Other than jumping the shark, that's my only complaint about House.

/also the only modern TV show I had time to follow//not a hipster - I do own a TV/mostly for sports

Last season (the final season) there were quite a few episodes where they broke out into a car commercial in the middle of the episode, touting all the wonderful features and options on the new Ford POS SUV.

WHITE COLLAR does this quite a lot, though they seem to have a way of making it obvious that itsa product plug without it being too intrusive. For example: Peter and Neal were having an intenseconversation while driving in NY traffic, and when Peter (who was driving) got distracted he got tooclose to the car ahead of him and the automatic brakes went on. He mentioned the feature and thenwent on with the scene, but it actually served to accentuate the conversation they were having. Italmost seemed natural, in point of fact.

If there are going to be embedded ads in TV shows, that is how it should probably be done, thoughthe advertisers probably don't like things that subtle.

Yeah, USA does it a lot, most noticeable with cars, i remember the exact scene youre talking about, that was pretty unobtrusive, but sometimes its pretty bad. I remember one time on Burn Notice "If you have to get away from the bad guys in a hurry, you could do a lot worse than Fis Hyundai Genesis, with its 300 horsepower and tight handling." I noticed Red Robin coming up several times on Psych too..

Psych does:

Red Robin.Jamba Juice.Japadog (though that's probably more a local homage than actual product placement)AppleAlienware (in early seasons)Toyota (the Blueberry. What?!)

I am kind of ok with burn notice doing that kind of thing. Budgets for cable shows are usually really low compared to network tv. So if they have to throw in some product placement and that means they can shoot a couple more episodes per season, or have a couple more explosions or pay Bruce Campbell more, then to me its totally worth it.

I feel like the show has gotten really desperate for the "spy advice" segments. They've gone through most of the interesting MacGuyver-type things in the first few seasons. Now they're stuck talking about how great their car is. As much as I liked Burn Notice, since it's basically this decade's A-Team, the show has almost become a parody of itself at this point.

Is Burn Notice the new A-Team, or is Leverage the new A-Team? Think about it - four criminals, each with different skills, fighting to help right a wrong that was done by some powerful man/company on some helpless individual.

Anyway, they all do product placement pretty heavily. Burn Notice is really bad with all of the Hyundai commercials, (When you're escaping from the bad guys, it's important to have twin turbos and dual caliper anti-lock brakes...) White Collar does lots of Ford commercials (Peter - You think you can get these criminals back to the station by yourself? Diana - Hey, this Ford Explorer can two 5,000 pounds, I'm sure it can handle these guys.) Heck, even Magnum PI shilled for Ferrarri, and Rockford Files prominantly featured the Pontiac Firebird. It's just part of the game.

Rickj:Is Burn Notice the new A-Team, or is Leverage the new A-Team? Think about it - four criminals, each with different skills, fighting to help right a wrong that was done by some powerful man/company on some helpless individual.

Except in The A-Team, they were wrongfully convicted. Just look at the opening monologue:In 1972 a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A-Team.

Replace "sent to prison" with "burned" and "Los Angeles" with "Miami". You've now got the exact premise of the first few season of Burn Notice.

Cyno01:DjangoStonereaver: FirstNationalBastard: dickfreckle: Has anyone ever been to a hospital that runs on MacOS?

Other than jumping the shark, that's my only complaint about House.

/also the only modern TV show I had time to follow//not a hipster - I do own a TV/mostly for sports

Last season (the final season) there were quite a few episodes where they broke out into a car commercial in the middle of the episode, touting all the wonderful features and options on the new Ford POS SUV.

WHITE COLLAR does this quite a lot, though they seem to have a way of making it obvious that itsa product plug without it being too intrusive. For example: Peter and Neal were having an intenseconversation while driving in NY traffic, and when Peter (who was driving) got distracted he got tooclose to the car ahead of him and the automatic brakes went on. He mentioned the feature and thenwent on with the scene, but it actually served to accentuate the conversation they were having. Italmost seemed natural, in point of fact.

If there are going to be embedded ads in TV shows, that is how it should probably be done, thoughthe advertisers probably don't like things that subtle.

Yeah, USA does it a lot, most noticeable with cars, i remember the exact scene youre talking about, that was pretty unobtrusive, but sometimes its pretty bad. I remember one time on Burn Notice "If you have to get away from the bad guys in a hurry, you could do a lot worse than Fis Hyundai Genesis, with its 300 horsepower and tight handling." I noticed Red Robin coming up several times on Psych too..

blindy the pirate:Cyno01: DjangoStonereaver: FirstNationalBastard: dickfreckle: Has anyone ever been to a hospital that runs on MacOS?

Other than jumping the shark, that's my only complaint about House.

/also the only modern TV show I had time to follow//not a hipster - I do own a TV/mostly for sports

Last season (the final season) there were quite a few episodes where they broke out into a car commercial in the middle of the episode, touting all the wonderful features and options on the new Ford POS SUV.

WHITE COLLAR does this quite a lot, though they seem to have a way of making it obvious that itsa product plug without it being too intrusive. For example: Peter and Neal were having an intenseconversation while driving in NY traffic, and when Peter (who was driving) got distracted he got tooclose to the car ahead of him and the automatic brakes went on. He mentioned the feature and thenwent on with the scene, but it actually served to accentuate the conversation they were having. Italmost seemed natural, in point of fact.

If there are going to be embedded ads in TV shows, that is how it should probably be done, thoughthe advertisers probably don't like things that subtle.

Yeah, USA does it a lot, most noticeable with cars, i remember the exact scene youre talking about, that was pretty unobtrusive, but sometimes its pretty bad. I remember one time on Burn Notice "If you have to get away from the bad guys in a hurry, you could do a lot worse than Fis Hyundai Genesis, with its 300 horsepower and tight handling." I noticed Red Robin coming up several times on Psych too..

Red Robin was in the script before they were a sponsor of Psych.

Yeah, with Psych, I think either half the stuff is either subtle product placement, or just references to stuff a guy like Shawn would enjoy. I don't think most of it comes off as product placement, so there aren't as many blatant commercials inserted in the middle of episodes.

FirstNationalBastard:Yeah, with Psych, I think either half the stuff is either subtle product placement, or just references to stuff a guy like Shawn would enjoy. I don't think most of it comes off as product placement, so there aren't as many blatant commercials inserted in the middle of episodes.

That was always my qualifier. "Is this something the character would usually do or say?" I don't believe Booth would talk to Bones about how he can order a pizza from his dashboard, but I do believe Shawn would talk up Red Robin. Though, that show could get away with almost anything, since they have always been so pop culture heavy.

I also enjoyed the Call of Duty plugs they had in Chuck. Don't know if it was purposeful placement or if it was because the writers and cast were actually geeks, but the launch day camp outs and the excitement leading up to the release were pretty damn spot on. I don't like the game, but they fit it in well and not only did it NOT feel like pandering, but that show usually got geek humor right.

One of the great things about shows that take place in the past like Mad Men is that the only oppurtunity for product placement is for companies that have been around for at least 50 years - and of course there's no way they can show their current products. Better yet, TV shows like Spartacus that take place in ancient times or Game of Thrones that isn't even set in our universe give no chance for greedy networks to shove products in our faces.

Shadowknight:FirstNationalBastard: Yeah, with Psych, I think either half the stuff is either subtle product placement, or just references to stuff a guy like Shawn would enjoy. I don't think most of it comes off as product placement, so there aren't as many blatant commercials inserted in the middle of episodes.

That was always my qualifier. "Is this something the character would usually do or say?" I don't believe Booth would talk to Bones about how he can order a pizza from his dashboard, but I do believe Shawn would talk up Red Robin. Though, that show could get away with almost anything, since they have always been so pop culture heavy.

Yeah, now, if Lassie starts shilling for... well, anything, or the Chief shoehorns in a reference to how her kid we haven't seen since season 2 loves Baby Einstein products, that's commercials in the middle of an episode.

But Shawn and Gus seem like geeky pop culture guys who can get away with referencing Red Robin, or using iphones.

Persnickety:One of the great things about shows that take place in the past like Mad Men is that the only oppurtunity for product placement is for companies that have been around for at least 50 years - and of course there's no way they can show their current products. Better yet, TV shows like Spartacus that take place in ancient times or Game of Thrones that isn't even set in our universe give no chance for greedy networks to shove products in our faces.

Personally, I would probably enjoy any Mad Men product placement, and pay attention to it, because it would give me a chance to see the cool old logos and package design.

FirstNationalBastard:Persnickety: One of the great things about shows that take place in the past like Mad Men is that the only oppurtunity for product placement is for companies that have been around for at least 50 years - and of course there's no way they can show their current products. Better yet, TV shows like Spartacus that take place in ancient times or Game of Thrones that isn't even set in our universe give no chance for greedy networks to shove products in our faces.

Personally, I would probably enjoy any Mad Men product placement, and pay attention to it, because it would give me a chance to see the cool old logos and package design.

Actually that would be pretty cool but it'll probably never happen. The characters on Mad Men talk pretty openly and harshly about the world of advertising and most everyone involved in that world is portrayed as more or less dysfunctional in one sense or another.

fickenchucker:Subway seems to have the worst product placement team. Pawn Stars has awful setups that are obvious and poorly-acted by those four rotund gentlemen. And the blatant corporate ad copy in Hawaii 5-0? FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUU!! The dialog should have been something short like "Dude, Jared didn't lose weight eating five footlongs", and fat dude counter with "But they're so good!", and moved the scene along.

QFT, Brother! American Pickers had a three minute commercial about Subway. Screw 'em; I hate Subway and those two dildos.

I don't recall them ever shilling on 24. They did do extreme closeups of their cell phones though.

I don't even think this was intentional product placement, but I bought a Jack Sack after Bauer used one in season 5. I wish shows would promote stuff by making it cool instead of that infomercial bullshiat they're doing now.

Kaybeck:GavinTheAlmighty: 24 used to shill out for GMC, Ford, and Hyundai.

I don't recall them ever shilling on 24. They did do extreme closeups of their cell phones though.

I don't even think this was intentional product placement, but I bought a Jack Sack after Bauer used one in season 5. I wish shows would promote stuff by making it cool instead of that infomercial bullshiat they're doing now.

[www.powerofbauer.com image 220x329]

IIRC the show did some episodes with "limited comercial interuption" provided by the car company that happened to supply all the cars in that episode.

Also I do have to say that I did have some people ask me if they could get the ringtone of their Cisco phones while that show was on air.

FuryOfFirestorm:EngineerAU: Smallville was pretty bad about it. Having Alienware computers around was amusing but the Yaris commercials were terrible. I think the actors intentionally did a poor job in order to keep from having to do more of them. Same with Being Erica's Ford Focus commercial in one episode.

The worst was the episode where one of Clark's friends gets stretching powers from chewing Stride Gum laced with Kryptonite. Seriously.

Then again, this is the show that had Amy Adams in a fat suit, then turn her into a fat-sucking vampire after eating vegetables grown in Kryptonite infested soil. Who then ate a moose she hit with her car.

FirstNationalBastard:Shadowknight: FirstNationalBastard: Yeah, with Psych, I think either half the stuff is either subtle product placement, or just references to stuff a guy like Shawn would enjoy. I don't think most of it comes off as product placement, so there aren't as many blatant commercials inserted in the middle of episodes.

That was always my qualifier. "Is this something the character would usually do or say?" I don't believe Booth would talk to Bones about how he can order a pizza from his dashboard, but I do believe Shawn would talk up Red Robin. Though, that show could get away with almost anything, since they have always been so pop culture heavy.

Yeah, now, if Lassie starts shilling for... well, anything, or the Chief shoehorns in a reference to how her kid we haven't seen since season 2 loves Baby Einstein products, that's commercials in the middle of an episode.

But Shawn and Gus seem like geeky pop culture guys who can get away with referencing Red Robin, or using iphones.

I'd still accept either one of them. Baby Einstein products, for better or worse, are out there as a cultural... thing. As far as Lassie goes, it would have to be a certain product. I can't see him going nuts over a McRib, for instance, but if he starts insisting on a certain kind of shoe polish, gun cleaner, ammunition, shaving cream, or suit jackets... I can see that happening. He would be one of those old school, brand loyal guys.

Son of Streak:FuryOfFirestorm: EngineerAU: Smallville was pretty bad about it. Having Alienware computers around was amusing but the Yaris commercials were terrible. I think the actors intentionally did a poor job in order to keep from having to do more of them. Same with Being Erica's Ford Focus commercial in one episode.

The worst was the episode where one of Clark's friends gets stretching powers from chewing Stride Gum laced with Kryptonite. Seriously.

Then again, this is the show that had Amy Adams in a fat suit, then turn her into a fat-sucking vampire after eating vegetables grown in Kryptonite infested soil. Who then ate a moose she hit with her car.

Loomy:SithLord: The Walking Dead used a lot of Gerber Gear in Season 2. But that was product placement with an actual use.

I didn't even notice that, tbh. But, Gerber is an industry leader (or one of the), so they probably asked for no 'This Gerber multitool is great fox fixing shiatty RVs!' dialogue...

On the short-lived Alcatraz (like Fringe, but with 30s-era crooks), they did a re-make of the Bullitt chase through downtown San Fran, showcasing the 2013 Ford Mustang. It was pretty cool, but the show still got cancelled.

Yeah, I liked that show. Helped that I thought the chick was cute, but liked it on top of that.

mctwin2kman:Shadowknight: Zombie DJ: All I know is, when Hawaii 5-0 says: "Hang on. Let me Bing it.", I want to lunch a baby in the face.NO ONE SAYS BING IT!NO ONE WILL EVER SAY BING IT!STOP TRYING TO MAKE UP SAYINGS!

Me and my friends have been known to say "Hold on while I Bing it.". Then we all start laughing as we bring up Google and move on.

I despise Bing so much that I purposefully block it on my Sonic Wall's.

A co-worker of mine was trying to look something up online and I saw she was using Bing, and I said "to start with close that window and open one with Google"

/ HATE Bing with a passion, it acts like a pop-up or virus and sucks ass to boot

Medic Zero:mctwin2kman: Shadowknight: Zombie DJ: All I know is, when Hawaii 5-0 says: "Hang on. Let me Bing it.", I want to lunch a baby in the face.NO ONE SAYS BING IT!NO ONE WILL EVER SAY BING IT!STOP TRYING TO MAKE UP SAYINGS!

Me and my friends have been known to say "Hold on while I Bing it.". Then we all start laughing as we bring up Google and move on.

I despise Bing so much that I purposefully block it on my Sonic Wall's.

A co-worker of mine was trying to look something up online and I saw she was using Bing, and I said "to start with close that window and open one with Google"

/ HATE Bing with a passion, it acts like a pop-up or virus and sucks ass to boot

Here Comes Everybody:Leverage used to shill Hyundais. It usually wasn't too bad -- just quick close-ups of the Hyundai logo when the characters got into or out of cars -- but there was one show where the Hyundai's in-car GPS played an important part.

See, I don't mind that stuff because I didn't even notice it. OTOH when Warehouse 13 had Claudia practically making out with her Prius I was viscerally uncomfortable and actually felt bad for the actress. Her bosses might as well have taken a shiat all over her job. They didn't hire her to be in a commercial, they hired her to play a character. Bad writing, that's part of what you deal with as a actor. But they were outright asking her to toss all the work she'd done on her character out the window so that her character could act like someone in a commercial.

Make the characters eat something, make them drive something, leave the soda can around, I don't care. But make the characters actually act out a commercial? That's like hiring someone to be an accountant and then telling them once they've been working at the company for a year or so that oh, by the way, every now and then they're expected to clean the employee bathrooms. If it were me I'd be pissed off.

whizbangthedirtfarmer:Fringe was guilty of promoting Ford and their little Microsoft Sync system a few times. The episode where Peter Bishop goes to the Northeast, that was the focus of the entire opening segment.

Yeah came here to say this too...I think every car they drive on the show is still a Ford...need to pay better attention to the new season see if this is still the case. They'd even focus in on the Ford emblem on the car for a moment every time too.

Kaybeck:I don't recall them ever shilling on 24. They did do extreme closeups of their cell phones though.

It was never as blatant as the Hawaii 5-0 example from earlier in the thread, but logos would be placed just a bit too conveniently. There was one TV-movie thing with Sutherland and Robert Carlyle in between seasons, and that was just a huge ad for the Hyundai Genesis.

For the most part, it was subtle, but there was an awful lot of corporate sponsorship on that show.